


"Please, just let me help you."

by InTooManyFandomsRay



Series: 50 DAYS DIALOGUE PROMPTS [13]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arthur Finds Out About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Hurt Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Merlin's Neckerchief (Merlin), POV Merlin (Merlin), Prince Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Romance, Sad with a Happy Ending, Soft Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), The Author Regrets Nothing, no beta we die like randomly gendered people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29397327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InTooManyFandomsRay/pseuds/InTooManyFandomsRay
Summary: Arthur's hurt, and Merlin uses his magic to heal him.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: 50 DAYS DIALOGUE PROMPTS [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2129253
Comments: 4
Kudos: 254





	"Please, just let me help you."

Merlin dragged the now unconscious Arthur through the rough terrain. A close call with a Griffin had left the young prince mortally wounded, and Merlin barely reining in his magic. He had struck the Griffin down with his magic and proceeded to tend to Arthur.

The area provided little to no cover for the servant and his master, and hence no safety from bandits and other threats around them. So Merlin had to haul Arthur away and towards a nearby rundown fortress, hoping it was empty.

A quick sweep of the castle with his magic revealed it to hold no other sentient being, and Merlin then settled Arthur down in the courtyard, quickly examining his wounds.

There was a deep gash in the prince’s left leg, and blood oozed through the makeshift bandage tied on his ribs. Arthur’s usually golden face was beginning to resemble an ashen corpse, and it was all Merlin could do to not break apart.

He refused to let his friend die. Not now, not like this. He wiped away his tears with a dirty hand, getting back to work.

He placed Arthur’s head on his lap, gently tapping the prince awake.

“M’rln?” Arthur mumbled through half-lidded eyes. His golden hair had lost its glow and now they stuck to his face, covered in sweat and grime. Merlin felt a few tears drop down his face and fall on Arthur’s cheek.

“I’m here, Arthur. Shh, don’t speak,” he said, bringing the waterskin to Arthur’s lips. “Here, drink.”

Arthur took a few sips, and then coughed almost a lung out. Merlin placed his hand on Arthur’s forehead, and it came back clammy. There was barely any heat left in his prince. Arthur’s sudden movement caused his wounds to open again and he groaned in pain.

Immediately, Merlin tore out his neckerchief and placed it on his rib wound. The blue neckerchief turned a deep purple as it got drenched in blood. His tears now flowed freely, as he considered his options.

There were no horses, and Camelot was a good two-day journey away. Arthur wouldn’t make it back alive.

Unless Merlin used his magic.

“Arthur, you’re going to be alright, okay?” he consoled the Prince, one hand pressing down on his wound, and the other caressing his cheek. Arthur leaned into his touch, and Merlin felt his heart break. He would make sure Arthur lived.

Arthur seemed to have other plans as he raised his trembling hand up towards Merlin’s face, grazing his jaw. “It’s okay, Merlin. Just hold me. It’s okay.”

“No-no, you can’t die!” Merlin cried, looking at the resigned smile on Arthur’s face. Arthur coughed again, blood staining his lips, and Merlin decided. He quickly wiped his tears away, his blue eyes hardening.

“You are _not_ dying today, Arthur Pendragon. Not when I can heal you.”

Arthur got a confused look on his face as Merlin placed his palm gingerly over his rib wound. He pushed his magic forward, with only one thought in his mind. _Heal_. _Heal._ _Heal Arthur Pendragon._ His magic responded in kind, as it flowed down his arms, sailing over his fingertips and into the wound. He urged it harder, pushing everything to his prince.

Arthur looked at the gold swirling in his manservant’s eyes and struggled to scramble back, but Merlin’s arms around him only tightened as he looked at Arthur.

“Please-just let me help you,” he begged. Arthur didn’t say anything, just continued to look at him like he was a stranger, and Merlin shut his eyes, tears pooling at the edge. The hurt, the betrayal in Arthur’s eyes was too much to bear.

“You can banish me, kill me, whatever you want once you’re healed. Just, please. Let me heal you. I can’t let you die, I _won’t_ let you die.”

They stayed there as the sun set over the horizon and the moon rose, Merlin holding Arthur tightly, his magic swirling and healing the young prince, and Arthur refusing to look at him.

When dawn broke, Merlin slumped over, having exhausted his magic. Through his barely awake mind, he registered Arthur shifting from under him, and the weight was lifted off his lap. Which meant Arthur was alive, and well.

Merlin collapsed to the ground, a smile on his face. Arthur’s blurry form rose over him and Merlin raised a hand towards him.

“R’thr,” he murmured, satisfied. “G’d. S’fe.”

The last thing he saw was Arthur bending over him, and crystal blue eyes wide with worry, piercing the back of his brain.

\---

The next few days, when Merlin slipped in and out of consciousness, he caught glimpses of his surroundings, sometimes people talking, and sometimes, feather-light touches comforting him. The first time he registered his surroundings, he was a few feet about the ground, and he saw Arthur’s face, hardened with resolve. Warm hands held him at his knees and back, and he fainted again at the realization that Arthur was carrying him.

The next time, he woke in the dead of night. There was a weight on his chest, and he tilted his head, to see Arthur’s hand on him, the prince himself asleep beside him. A fire crackled in front of him, and Merlin drifted off again to the sounds of the woods around him.

When Merlin next gained consciousness, he was lying on a bed of feathers. _Arthur’s bed_ , his mind supplied. His eyelids felt heavy, and he didn’t dare open them. When he concentrated harder, he could make out voices from around him.

“-okay?”

“-need to rest. Give him time, Arthur.”

“Of course, Gaius. I’m not going anywhere.”

“-safe?”

“No harm will-”

And Merlin lost his bearings again.

Finally, when he woke completely, he realized he was alone. Sunlight peaked through the windows in Arthur’s chambers, and Camelot’s noise floated through the air. Merlin tried to sit and immediately winced when his head began to bang like a drum.

He attempted to remember the last thing that happened, and his eyes shot open.

Arthur was healed and now knew about his magic. Instinctively, his hand dropped to his chest, feeling for a sword wound which wasn’t there, when the door opened and in walked Arthur.

The prince took one look at him and almost tripped over his feet trying to get to him.

“Merlin! What are you doing? Get back in bed, you idiot,” Arthur said, pushing him down into the bed, despite Merlin’s protests.

“I’m fine!”

“Yes, just like how you don’t have magic.”

Arthur glowered at him when he refused to lie back down, and eventually gave up. He helped his manservant sit, resting his back on the headboard, and bringing him a cup of water.

Arthur placed a hand on the side of Merlin’s face, and it was Merlin’s time to lean into his prince’s touch. The cool surface of the cup touched the warlock’s lips as he parted them, drinking the water like a dying man. Which he technically was.

When he was done, Arthur placed the cup on the side table and took his hands into his own.

“Never do that again,” he said, staring into Merlin’s eyes, an unknown emotion swirling behind the blues. Merlin only nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Arthur sighed, and Merlin noticed the dark bags under his eyes. He had seemed to age overnight, and his shoulders seemed to hold the weight of the world on them.

Arthur placed his forehead on Merlin’s, and whispered softly, “I thought I lost you.”

A laugh bubbled in Merlin’s throat as his eyes closed at the contact.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

When he opened his eyes, he saw Arthur looking at him, and felt a wave of love from the other man. But there were so many questions, so many answers. So much to talk about. As though sensing his thoughts, Arthur said, “We’ll talk about it. Not now. Now, you rest.”

Merlin nodded, throat clogging up with emotion.

“We’ll get through this. Together, okay? No more secrets,” Arthur promised, cupping his face. Merlin nodded again, in full agreement with his Prince.

“No more secrets,” he agreed and leaned forward. Arthur’s lips met his halfway through, and he sighed at the contact.

It was a slow first kiss, one full of promise and hope. A promise that whatever would happen, they would face it together. A hope of a future together. Together, they would be okay.


End file.
